Les Bowen

STAFF WRITER

Les Bowen has covered the Eagles since 2002. Before that, he covered the Flyers for 13 years. He came to the Daily News from the Charlotte Observer in May 1983, just as the Sixers were winning the NBA championship. He thought, "Gosh, this sort of thing must happen all the time here."

Andre Smith, the talented offensive tackle who might have severely damaged his draft stock by leaving the scouting combine early and seeming out of shape, is scheduled to visit the Eagles soon, NFL.com reports. That's as expected -- the Birds are closely scrutinizing all the first- and second-round-worthy OTs in the April 25-26 draft. Smith is especially interesting, though, in that he was once projected as a top five overall pick, and because of the hoopla over his preparation for the draft, he could drift into the area where the Birds are picking, 21st and 28th overall.

NFL opinion on Smith's capers seems mixed. I've heard people express real concern about his maturity and approach; as you can see from the photo posted here, shirtless pics of the guy would be NSFW. Others think the whole thing has been overblown and that he's likely to be a fine player, when the dust settles.

Also this morning, the date on that Eagles preseason opener against the Patriots is now officially Thursday, Aug. 13 at the Linc. When the preseason sked was announced earlier this week, the date was listed as either the 13th or the 14th. Now, every Eagles preseason game is set for on a Thursday night, which makes for an orderly practice schedule. Plus, "ER" is going to be long done, and "The Office" and "30 Rock" will be in reruns.